I wasn’t at all surprised when I got a call to photograph Craig and Paul Pumphrey for the ad campaign for their new show Human Wrecking Balls on G4. These guys are seriously tough, and they can pretty much destroy anything with their bare hands. This kind of raw power can be intimidating, and the client wanted to make sure that they hired a photographer who could smack the guys around if need be. Usually I am hired for a job because of my style and photographic talent, but for this job I was also hired for my size and imposing figure.

Craig and Paul are really some of the nicest guys I have ever met. Possibly because they are able to release any frustrations and pent up aggression they may have by breaking things on a daily basis. Like this stack of cinder blocks for example. My assistant Mike and I flew down to LA for the shoot. It was a filming day, and the set was an old abandoned bowling alley. During some of our down time, we threw bowling balls at tv monitors, and kicked things that looked solid. Needless to say, the experience of destroying a bowling alley created some awkward inner tensions for me when I went bowling for my wife’s birthday party just weeks later.

While I was photographing Craig for the punching ad, we started debating which one of us would loose a thumb wrestling competition. I also offered to let him kick me in the head if I could punch him in the face first. Unfortunately this never happened because we were pressed for time due to the long filming schedule that day. Lucky for him.

Watching Craig throw punches, I realized that his form was completely off, and I gave him a few quick pointers. This is where my whole world came crashing down. It turns out that my form was off, and Craig knew what he was doing. What!? I have always thought that when you throw a punch you want to spread the impact across the 4 knuckles on your first. Not true. It turns out that the correct way to punch is to align your index and middle finger knuckels with your arm. Like a battering ram. Those two knuckles are where you should make contact with your target and deliver the impact. If all of your knuckles were flat on impact, your wrist would not be straight, and you could cause some serious damage to your self. So making sure that your wrist is straight and just the two knuckles deliver the impact is very important. And that is how you throw a punch.

These print ad’s are running in Maxim and Rolling Stone. The online content can be seen on the G4 website, as well as the Zune Marketplace and iTunes store. I wish lot’s of luck and good health to Craig and Paul Pumphrey!